GADGET WATCH: BlackBerry Bold 9900

Research In Motion has been in a lot of trouble lately. With employees writing anonymous letters criticising management, a few resignations and calls from shareholders to sell the company, the BlackBerry maker isn’t in the greatest of places.

But a range of new hardware could change that. On first glance the BlackBerry Bold 9900 seems like just another version of the company’s infamous business-focused handsets. But does the 9900 perform where it counts?

Features and hardware

The BlackBerry 9900 is based on the classic BlackBerry design, with a QWERTY keyboard, and a 2.8 inch screen. The device itself measures 115x66x10.5 millimetres, slightly thinner than previous iterations.

The gadget features a screen lock button, a micro-USB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Reviewers have praised the solid, metal finish, along with the metal blade that surrounds the device.

The display is 640×480, with density of 285ppi. Inside, the device is powered by a 1.2Ghz processor and 768MB of RAM. There are 8GB of internal storage, although this can be expanded by up to 32GB with the microSD slot.

What’s the consensus?

One of the biggest pros for the Bold 9900 is the new BlackBerry software. Version seven is a marked improvement over OS 6, according to some, who say the graphical overhaul and the similar design to the PlayBook gives the Bold 9900 a more modern feel.

Pocket Lint wrote the email service, for which BlackBerry is known to be at the top of its game, was worthy of the brand name.

“Even though email is common, and good, across a number of smartphones, on BlackBerry it feels so much simpler for power emailers. Grouped emails and universal inboxes aren’t as unique as they once were, but we still love how fast the Bold handles email, even when it is barely registering a GPRS connection.”

Boy Genius Report particularly loved the keyboard, going so far to say it would be the best physical keyboard on any smartphone.

“It’s not just spacious, it’s tactile and it features the perfected RIM layout. It’s clickity, but not mushy, and it’s firm but not too firm. It’s also properly sized without being too big to type quickly – in short, it’s the best physical keyboard I have ever typed on as far as a mobile device goes.”

CNET also said the web browser was a “killer feature”, and that it successfully avoided navigation problems and some latency issues seen in other models.

“With the combination of the touchscreen and physical keys, you always feel like you have multiple ways to achieve your next step in this browser. You can press and hold on the screen to bring up a full menu, or use the ‘BlackBerry’ button to see the standard menu overlay.”

However, despite the improvements over previous Bold models, reviewers aren’t overly impressed with some issues. Although reviewers have praised audio, speakerphones and battery life, there are problems with OS7. TechRadar writes that some of the new user interface updates such as swiping through app drawers, are pointless.

“There is nothing bad about this OS. We would much rather have it than OS6. But it just feels like a bit of a let down that not much appears to have changed.”

BGR was disparaging of the BlackBerry app ecosystem, calling it a “joke”.

“App World is a joke. Third-party applications are a joke. User interfaces are a joke. This is a phone still primarily based on what corporate users of the past once wanted: the best email device in the world coupled with pretty solid personal information management like contacts, calendar, tasks and more.”

“Unfortunately, that’s not enough in this day and age to move the needle, and the dated software and operating system show.”

Who’s it for?

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is a competent piece of hardware. It has a great media player, is built with a sturdy exterior and the software is intuitive for seasoned BlackBerry users. And this is exactly who the device is built for – existing users.

BlackBerry veterans will find a lot from the 9900. But for those who aren’t initiated within the BlackBerry ecosystem, they may be better off looking at an iPhone, or one of the more advanced Android phones, such as the Galaxy or Nexus, which provide functionality and a healthy app ecosystem.